It has become desirable with many owners of trucks and sport utility vehicles to employ a "lift kit" to increase the ride height of the vehicle. This typically requires the upper and lower control arms to be re-mounted at a lower position than with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) suspension system. This is typically accomplished through the use of "drop" brackets to which the control arms are secured. Portions of the brackets are then secured at the original mounting locations of the upper and lower control arms, and the brackets thereby serve to lower all of the control arms. Other replacement components such as coil springs and shock absorbers are also often included in such lift kits, and the lift kit project is one which an individual with some mechanical aptitude and experience can do by himself.
When attempting to re-mount the upper control arms at a lower position, the construction of the vehicle frame often impedes or makes impossible the task of simply lowering the upper control arms by using the drop brackets as intermediate members between the frame and the upper control arms. In this instance, to increase the vehicle ride height would require upper control arms having lengths which are shorter than the OEM control arms or possibly require other extensive suspension modifications. Obviously, replacing the upper control arms with ones which are of an altered length would add significantly to the cost of the lift kit, the complexity of the kit, the time required to install the kit and may sacrifice the intended suspension geometry.
When faced with a situation where the vehicle frame will not permit the upper control arms to be dropped straight down and remounted at a lower position relative to the frame, moving the entire wheel spindle outwardly slightly would become a solution to the clearance problem. By moving the wheel spindle outwardly a small distance, for example, about 0.5 inch, which represents that distance which the upper control arm has to be offset laterally from its OEM mounting location before it can be lowered with a drop bracket, the OEM upper control arms and wheel spindles could be used. This slight degree of outward displacement of the entire wheel spindle would therefore enable convention drop brackets to be used and mounted to the vehicle frame such that the OEM upper control arms would not encounter interference from the frame. By simply moving the entire above-mentioned assembly as described would sacrifice the intended engagement of the outboard CV joint. This may lead to a premature failure or reduced performance of the CV joint.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a lift kit which enables the ride height of a vehicle to be increased in instances where it is not possible to simply lower the upper control arms because of interference with the vehicle frame.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a spacer member which is adapted to move the entire wheel spindle of the vehicle outwardly such that the upper control arms can be lowered, as well as laterally displaced a required amount, and still maintain the intended function and service of the CV joint.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide an axle spacer member which serves to permit the wheel spindle with which it is associated to be moved outwardly a distance approximately equal to the distance by which the upper control arms have to be laterally displaced to overcome the interference from the frame. This would enable the OEM upper control arms to be used without modification, and simply remounted to the frame at the desired vertical position to achieve the desired degree of lift.